


5 Times Eggsy Wore Merlin's Jumper

by gaealynn



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: First Time, M/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-20 08:16:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3643185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaealynn/pseuds/gaealynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin doesn't mind that Eggsy seems to have appropriated his jumper.  But he's beginning to mind that Eggsy seems to have no intention of returning it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Galahad. Galahad! This is na the place to stop for a break!" Merlin stared intently at his monitor, willing a response from the young knight. The mission, which was only supposed to be casual reconnaissance, had unexpectedly gone to shit on Galahad's second day out. Kingsman had not even been monitoring Galahad's feed at the time, and they'd only known something was wrong when he'd missed his check in with the shop, David stepping quietly up the stairs and into Merlin's office to alert him to the issue. Merlin's best efforts at tracking down their errant knight had gone for naught until Galahad had activated the tracker in his glasses some three hours later, registering in a completely run-of-the-mill (but suspiciously poorly electronically monitored) industrial park in Maidstone, of all places, bafflingly close to home and nowhere near where he'd been assigned. 

The feed had switched on a few moments later, already in the middle of the familiar tilt and jiggle that meant Galahad was settling the glasses into place, and the clawing ache in Merlin's chest, a constant companion whenever he couldn't account for one the knights these days, had eased. 

His relief had been short lived. Although Galahad had followed Merlin's directives, turning corners and trying doors when instructed, Galahad was moving slowly, had seemed to trip over himself several times, and, most worryingly, had not responded to any of Merlin's questions nor, indeed, spoken any word at all since the feed had reactivated. Merlin's only consolation was that, so far, the entire building appeared to be empty; he was not at all confident in the young knight's ability to fight off even the most poorly trained guard at the moment. 

" _Eggsy_ ," Merlin bit out, when there was still no response, the feed continuing to show the same poorly lit linoleum hallway where the Knight had slowed, then come to a stop, more than thirty seconds ago, for no discernible reason. Up in the front of the copter, David glanced back and then away.

"ETA 2:23, sir," David said through the headset, voice completely neutral, and Merlin nodded without looking away from the monitor. 

After a few more seconds, the feed though Galahad's glasses finally moved up and down, minutely, and Merlin growled explosively.

"Yah need to get a move on, son," Merlin chided, "Keep going!" as an alarm on his second monitor began to flash, indicating that someone was entering the building and Galahad would soon have company. Galahad's feed wavered, then finally lurched forward and began to move down the hall again.

By the time David was bringing them in to hover just a few feet above the rooftop, Merlin was watching the feed reflect Galahad's hand pushing against the heavy door to the roof. Merlin ripped off his safety belt, slid open the door of the helicopter, and leaned out the side, one hand twisted in the safety netting, finally able to see for himself as Galahad staggered through the door and across the roof.

"Come on, come on, keep going," Merlin coaxed, and Galahad crossed the last few feet, "Reach up," Merlin ordered, as soon as Galahad was in range, and Galahad threw an arm up as Merlin reached down to pull him in. 

"Got you! There's a good lad," Merlin murmured triumphantly as he lifted, though Galahad's uncoordinated tumble took them both to the floor as David moved them up and away. Merlin moved carefully out from under Galahad and leaned across the few inches he needed to slide the door closed before turning back to take stock of his knight.

Galahad reared away as Merlin moved forward, and Merlin forced himself still, sitting back on his heels and holding his hands out where they could be seen. After a second, Merlin reached forward again only to have Galahad scoot back even further.

"Galahad, what--" Merlin demanded, frustrated, then stopped as the young man tilted his head back and squinted in confusion.

"Merlin?" Galahad mouthed, completely inaudible without one of the helicopter's comms to speak into.

"Yes, ya idiot!" Galahad continued to stare, his nose and forehead scrunching in apparent confusion, before relaxing abruptly and pulling himself up enough to lean forward unsteadily.

Merlin felt the chill before Galahad even made contact, and swore as Galahad wrapped an icy hand around his wrist.

"David, to UK HQ," Merlin ordered, leaning forward to pull carefully at Galahad's soaking wet and icy cold double-breasted jacket. Fuck. In the dim light, he could see that Galahad's lips were blue. Nor was he shivering; instead, he allowed himself to slump forward onto Merlin as though sitting up had taken all the energy he'd had. Merlin slid Galahad's jacket off gently and set to work on the buttons of his shirt, mindful of the very real threat of triggering cardiac arrest if he jostled the knight too much, cursing the fact that he'd been pushing Galahad to move faster, "Tell medical to be prepared to treat Galahad for advanced hypothermia."

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, son," Merlin coaxed when he'd gotten both jacket and shirt off, and the Knight shifted obediently, patting at Merlin's hands erratically, disturbingly docile as Merlin stripped the last of his ruined suit, pants, socks, and all, off him. "Just a moment," Merlin cautioned, rising to pull the helicopter's only two shock blankets from their storage net, then knelt again, wrapping one around the Knight's shoulders. He shucked his own clothes as quickly as he could, flight jacket, jumper, shirt, and trousers all thrown carelessly into the corner, then spread the second blanket onto the floor, and knelt to pull Galahad back into the vee of his hips. He didn't quite managing to suppress a hiss as he pressed his chest against Galahad's damp and icy back, pulling the blankets together to form as much of a cocoon around them as he could. Galahad flailed, but settled as Merlin's quiet, "Easy, easy Eggsy, I've got you," and let Merlin wrap both arms around his chest.

After long minutes, he began to shiver, and Merlin exhaled harshly, ducking his head to press his forehead against the Knight's neck, relieved.

 

"Oi, Merlin! Where you been?" Eggsy greeted him two days later, leaning forward in bed and grinning widely as Merlin stepped through the door. The room was warm, but the boy was wrapped in one of medical's plush robes and covered in a thick duvet, on top of being fully dressed, if the sleeves of a dark jumper peeking out from under the robe and pulled down over his hands were any indication.

"Sir!" Roxy stood from the seat beside Eggsy's, slapping at Eggsy's arm in reproof while looking at Merlin, her smile much quieter but as genuine as Eggsy's. Eggsy made an exaggerated face of confusion at her, and Merlin glanced down at his clipboard briefly to hide his amusement at their antics.

"You're being released," He said as he looked back up, and both of his new Knights brightened, "but I want you to take it easy. Finish out the week at home; I don't want to see you back at the tailor's before Saturday," he warned.

"Well what am I supposed to tell me mum about why I ain't going to work?" Eggsy demanded, "I ain't sick, not got a cold or nothing."

"I'm sure your espionage skills can stretch themselves far enough to convince your mother that you picked up a bug on your business trip." Merlin said dryly, "And if they can't, we do happen to have a few biological additives that could do the job for you."

"Uhhhh, no fanks," Eggsy said immediately, looking a bit alarmed. Roxy rolled her eyes and leaned over to peck Eggsy on the cheek.

"I'll see you Thursday for dinner," She said, so easily that Merlin wondered if they'd already made arrangements or if Roxy had a standing invitation. None of his business, to be sure.

"Sure, yeah, I'll let mum know you'll be over," Eggsy said, and Roxy patted his hand, turned to give Merlin a quick nod, and made her way out briskly.

"She wants to give you the chance to read the me riot act in private, like," Eggsy said as soon she was gone, voice aggressively bright.

"I'm sorry?" Merlin asked, thrown, and Eggsy bit his lip and looked away, shoulders curving in for a second before straightening out again.

"Fucked it up good, didn't I?" Eggsy asked, voice even, "Third mission without you in my ear every second of the way, and I got myself knocked and thrown in a freezer. Not exactly Kingsman, is it?"

"Eggsy--" Merlin stopped, then shook his head and crossed the room to take the chair Roxy had vacated. Eggsy met his eyes as he sat down, jaw firm, and Merlin tapped his pen against his clip board while he thought, once, twice, as they stared at each other. "You are a Kingsman Knight, Galahad," Merlin said eventually, "and you did very well."

"What?" Eggsy sounded incredulous.

"Things will go wrong." Merlin doesn't think about the other things that have gone wrong, recently; two new Knights in less than a year. This isn't the time or the place to go there, nor is Eggsy an appropriate audience, even if he already knows perfectly well. None of it bears revisiting, anyway; they just have to move forward. "You didn't compromise any active missions or the Kingsman. You got yourself out and you got yourself to the pick up point safely. You did -- very well."

"Oh." Eggsy bit his lip. He fussed with the sleeve of his jumper, tugging at the finely knit wool few times before smoothing it down. The sleeves were, now that Merlin was close enough to see, not pulled down at all, just comically long on him, and Merlin wondered why on earth Eggsy would wear something that fit so poorly. "Just doing what I was told, wasn't I?" Eggsy said eventually, but he seemed lighter. After a few moment, he looked up again, serious. "Got you to thank for that, so -- thank you."

"Ah. Well." Merlin paused a moment, "You're very welcome, Eggsy," he says finally.

Eggsy grinned, bright and relieved, and fell back against the raised back of the bed. The collar of medical's robe pulled open as he moved, and Merlin very carefully didn't blink, because now that he could see the shoulder patches, he was almost certain that Eggsy's too-large jumper was, in fact, actually his own jumper. Which, come to think of it, hadn't been delivered with his other clothes after transferring Eggsy to medical. He honestly hadn't realized -- except for when circumstances dictated a change in pace, he appreciated the ease and reliability of wearing the same thing every day, and, accordingly, had six more just like it. Harry'd teased him about having a uniform.

"What 'ave you been doing, then?" Eggsy demanded as Merlin stared, relaxed and apparently completely oblivious to Merlin's sudden bewilderment. "Ain't seen you around?"

Merlin could ask. Merlin could ask, or he could not ask but make it clear that he'd noticed. Either way, it would inevitably be awkward. It wasn't as though Merlin needed the jumper back right this second. It certainly wasn't worth risking the bright, contented look on Eggsy's face over it. Besides which, gentlemen didn't draw attention to such things when they could help it. 

"Since you've asked, I've been doing data analysis. Which, now that you mention it, would be the perfect assignment for a Knight on medical rest. In fact--" and smirked at Eggsy's loud, agonized groan. Data analysis was not Eggsy's strong suit; he could use the practice.

He'd let Eggsy return the jumper in his own time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The jumper makes only an off-screen appearance in this one, alas!
> 
> &
> 
> Roxy ships it

“Gonna redecorate, then?” Eggsy asked, and Merlin turned from where he'd been contemplating Chester's desk to find Eggsy leaning in the doorway. Eggsy's eyebrows went up and he straightened with a whistle as he took Merlin in. “Damn, Merlin! Looking good, bruv.”

Merlin signed, and resisted the urge to tug at the dove grey, pinstripe vest of the suit Eric had delivered that morning.

“One must look the part,” He said after a few moments, when it seemed that Eggsy wasn't going to do more than take in the three piece, looking fascinated and a little gleeful.

“Doing a right proper job of it,” Eggsy said cheerfully, and finally stepped into the office. “Downright intimidating in that thing, you are. Not that you weren't before! Always been freaking scary, mate, but now you're just – uh, not that you weren't-- that is--” He trailed off, looking a little alarmed. Merlin frowned at him in consternation, and Eggsy quailed, then barked out a laugh, pointing. “That right there!” He crowed, “That's classic Merlin, but it's like, doubly effective now. Oi, Rox!” He shouted over his shoulder, then circled around Merlin, letting out another whistle.

“What is it, Eggsy? Did you find Me-- oh, good afternoon, Arthur!” Roxy said, barely missing a step as she appeared, though her eyebrows also jumped for her hairline. “Is that one of Eric's?” She asked, hesitating in the doorway.

“Come in, Lancelot. And yes, it is, good eye,” Merlin said, and Roxy smiled as she stepped in.

“It's lovely; suits you very well.” She said warmly and then, oddly, smirked and glanced over Merlin's shoulder at Eggsy. “Very – close fit.” She noted.

“Rox!” Eggsy protested, and Merlin turned to find the boy glaring at her.

“Yes, it's – a change,” Merlin agreed cautiously, turning back to her. “Jumpers not quite conveying the image of authority that Arthur should possess, apparently.”

“Oh, I don't know, I think some people found the jumpers quite – commanding.” Roxy said, almost offhandedly, face straight. A strangled noise came from Eggsy's direction, but when Merlin turned again to stare at him incredulously, Eggsy was smiling perfectly normally. Merlin narrowed his eyes at Eggsy, who met his gaze without flinching, then at Roxy, who looked for all the world as though the conversation were perfectly normal. 

Despite the uneasy impression of impending doom that they sometimes gave him, Merlin couldn't quite help the wave of affection that rolled through him at their antics. The two of them together were more trouble than any three knights he'd trained before, but they were both well on their way to being excellent field agents -- when they actually bothered to use what he'd been teaching them. A craftsman couldn't help but take pride in such results; he just wished they'd choose another target to practice on.

“Be that as it may,” He said wryly, turning to walk around Chester's desk, “I'm afraid that the jumpers are no more. One apparently gives up a certain amount of sartorial control when one inherits a personal valet as a job perk.”

He sat, and contemplated the spread of papers on the desk. He'd gone through them, of course, in the first few weeks after Valentine's attempt, but only in the most cursory manner. He'd not touched them since, wanting to be in this office as little as possible, hoping that another solution would present itself. But he'd had no such luck, and the mess that Chester had left for him would be put off no longer – in more ways than one. He resisted, again, the urge to tug at his vest, and sighed.

He looked up to find both of his knights still watching him, Eggsy now looking concerned and Roxy looking quite thoughtful.

“If you're going to stay, you may as well have a seat,” he said, when neither made any move to stop hovering. Roxy immediately slid gracefully into the seat in front of him, practically pulling Eggsy down into the seat next to her, and reached out to take a stack off the desk.

“Are you expected to go through all of this yourself?” She asked, sounding disgusted, already starting to flip through the stack. “As if you're not already doing enough. Here, Eggsy,” she said, handing another stack to Eggsy, which he took hesitantly, and looked up at Merlin. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“Not as such,” Merlin admitted, “I pulled out anything critically time-sensitive before we shut up the office. But--”

“-- but we can't just throw it all out without looking at it, of course, and who knows what's in here.” Roxy quirked a smile at him. “One pile for no longer relevant, one for high priority, one for low priority, and one for we don't have a clue and you'll have to look at it yourself?”

Merlin looked at them, Roxy staring back at him with her chin tilted at an angle that meant she knew she was crossing a line and determined to do it anyway, Eggsy staring at the stack in his hands with a look of vague horror and grim determination. 

It would be breaking all kinds of precedent: Arthur operated on his own level. Arthur didn't welcome input from the knights, Arthur didn't share information until absolutely necessary, and Arthur certainly didn't let them help clean out an office full of classified documents just because he was worn down and the thought of doing it alone was yet another thing he didn't care to contemplate.

But. In the last six, hellish months, with the entire world struggling to get back on track, while he'd been running them on more missions than most of the older knights had seen in their first two years, they'd never wavered, nor hesitated to do what needed to be done. They'd certainly never given him cause to question them, and to imply otherwise now would be... Fuck Chester King, anyway. 

“Just so, Lancelot,” He agreed mildly, and Roxy tucked her chin down to hide a pleased smile in her stack of papers. Eggsy groaned and flopped back in his seat, bringing his own stack up to contemplate.

“Ain't never seen no paperwork on 24, just sayin',” he muttered, then moved his leg quickly when Roxy kicked at his ankle. “Oi, watch it, don't want me to drop these, do you? Probably bloody get them all out of order...”

Several hours later, Eggsy slid the last filing cabinet drawer shut with a bang, and stood.

“That is the bloody last of it!” He announced triumphantly, “And about time, too, told me mum I'd be home for dinner, might actually make it on time. Rox,” He said, darting over to kiss her cheek, then, “Merlin,” and, to Merlin's great surprise, darted around the desk to brush one against Merlin's temple before rushing out of the office. Merlin blinked.

“You know,” Roxy said, as she straightened one last stack on Merlin's desk, “If you decide you want to replace those jumpers, Eggsy must know where to get them, he was wearing one just like when I went by last weekend.” She met Merlin's eyes over his desk, gaze serious, then followed Eggsy's path around the desk, leaning over to brush a kiss in the same spot that Eggsy had just bestowed one upon. “Have a good night, Merlin,” she said, straightening with a pat to his shoulder, and walked out without looking back.

Merlin waited until she was well out of the office to clear his throat.

Well.


	3. The Return of Harry Hart

The day that Harry Hart walked back into the Savile Row tailor shop, Merlin wasn't there. He wasn't even at the manor, which would at least have only been a short tube ride away.

Instead, he and Lancelot were in Berlin, their fifth and final stop on a week-long tour of high stakes teas. Merlin – or rather, Arthur – was meeting with a woman who had introduced herself as the White Queen and, with a small grin, named her security detail the Mad Hatter. Merlin hadn’t bothered to suppress a small huff of laughter and made his own introductions as “King Arthur, then, I suppose, and Sir Lancelot.” Things had been going swimmingly, right up until Lancelot made a small, strange noise behind Merlin.

Merlin and the White Queen both froze; Merlin didn’t dare turn around, but the White Queen didn’t scruple about staring over Merlin's shoulder and then looking at him incredulously.

“Sorry, Arthur, something-- something got caught in my throat.” Lancelot managed after a few seconds, and Merlin relaxed minutely at the code phrase.

“Tea, dear?” The White Queen offered mock solicitously.

“No, but thank you, ma'am. My apologies for having interrupted.” Lancelot's answer was firm. The White Queen raised her eyebrows at Merlin but allowed him to move back to their previous topic of conversation, and the issue wasn't raised again until he and Lancelot were safely back on the plane.

“Eggsy commed,” Lancelot said as soon as the door folded up behind them; Merlin didn’t have time to wonder at her break in formality while on business, because Lancelot pressed her lips into a thin line and then said, “Harry Hart walked into the Saville Row shop this afternoon at 14:22. As you were unavailable, James alerted Bors, who took him back to headquarters for a full physical and turned him over to Galahad upon Galahad's return. Galahad is staying with him until we get back. James already sent you the video from the shop.”

She held out his networked glasses – an unnecessary distraction during delicate negotiations – and he swapped them with his decoy glasses numbly.

“Thank you,” He managed, voice only a little rough; Roxy smiled at him a little and reached out to touch his arm briefly, then dropped into parade rest, an obvious but tactfully tacit prompt for orders. “Headquarters, if you please, Lancelot,” he obliged, and declined to join her up front when she went to strap into the pilot's seat.

The flight gave him time to do much more than just review the security footage. By the time Lancelot had started their descent, he'd tracked Harry's arrival back to Heathrow and an alias of John Sommerset. Mr. Sommerset had, apparently, spent some eight months in a rehabilitation facility in the US state of Virginia, then paid in cash and checked himself out. A week later, Harry had stepped into the Saville Row shop perfectly coiffed and resplendent, though slightly out of fashion, in what Merlin recognized as a suit that Harry had retired several years prior.

Damn the man.

“Lancelot, with me if you please,” Merlin said, once they were on the ground again and the flight crew had stepped in to take over. He managed to make it relaxed, but it seemed that Roxy knew him too well, because instead of falling into step behind him, she fell in beside him and linked her arm through his firmly, turning her steps with his toward the guest wing.

“Tristan and I have been meaning to run through the new line of gear that tech sent up, so I'll be staying quite late after we’re done here. I'm thinking dinner from Assan's -- I’ll have them send your usual.” She said, instead of asking, when they’d stopped in front of the closed door in the guest wing and Merlin had hesitated just a little too obviously.

“Yes, thank you,” Merlin replied, and slipped his arm from hers to reach for the door.

Harry Hart, or someone very like him, was sitting to one side of the the small side table. He smiled genially at Merlin as Merlin stepped in, as though he hadn’t a care in the world. On the other side of the table, still in his mission suit and, Merlin suspected, still fully armed, Eggsy -- or rather, Galahad, if the furious lines around his mouth were any indication -- sat, nearly a perfect mirror image of Harry, though he stood respectfully as Merlin entered.

“Arthur,” Galahad greeted, and Merlin at least had the satisfaction of seeing the flicker of shock cross Harry’s face. “Medical’s report,” Galahad continued, and handed a clipboard over.

“Thank you, Galahad. Have you had a chance to see Nimue yet?”

“No, sir.”

“Very well. Please do so. You and I will speak later.”

“Yes, sir.” Galahad nodded, glanced over Merlin’s shoulder to where Lancelot had undoubtedly settled herself for the duration, then left the room without so much as a glance in their guest’s direction.

“Well. Harry.” Merlin said, slowly, when the door had closed behind his Knight.

“ _Arthur_ ,” The other man returned, with just the slightest curious emphasis, and a small, genteel grin that invited Merlin to join him in appreciating how flawlessly he’d pulled off his grand return. Merlin couldn’t quite manage it.

“Indeed.” He said, instead, lifting the clipboard and mentally reviewing the protocol for debriefing agents assumed compromised. “Shall we?”

 

 

He found Eggsy, later, in the library, curled into one of the window seats and staring pensively out of the grounds. He’d changed out of his mission suit, and Merlin found himself smoothing out a small catch in his step as he realized that Eggsy was, once again, wearing the dark green jumper, long sleeves pulled down over his hands, knees tucked up against his chest, arms curled around them defensively.

Merlin stopped at his side and looked him over carefully. Nothing so obvious as tear tracks, but there was a lingering hint of red around the edges of his eyes that spoke volumes.

“He bloody remembered us the whole time,” Eggsy said, finally, voice thin. “Like it was just too much trouble to call or sumthin’.”

“Harry Hart is a very proud individual.” Merlin replied, low; unsure if it was an excuse or a condemnation. Eggsy didn’t seem to know, either, snorting derisively into his knees but otherwise offering no further comment, gaze still fixed firmly outside.

Merlin followed his lead and watched the last of the evening light disappear in silence, only reaching out when the last of it had gone and full night had settled over the grounds.

“Roxy and Tristan will be done by now,” He said, giving Eggsy’s shoulder a firm shake. “They’ve ordered from Assan’s. Shall we?” Waited, until Eggsy sighed explosively, shoulders relaxing slowly, and he looked up at Merlin with a resigned smile.

“Yeah, guv, let’s go.”


	4. Honey Trap

“Galahad, while you're entertaining Mr. Givens, Bors will take lead on the retrieval, with Lancelot assisting. Claudin, Lancelot, if you end up needing more time, we'll need advanced notice. Given's home has enough surveillance equipment in it that we'll not be risking keeping Galahad on comms; we'll need time to communicate any change in plans. Any questions?”

“No, Arthur,” the three of them chorused. Lancelot and Claudin immediately stood and made their farewells, the older knight drawing the younger away with him, presumably to start planning their half of the mission. Galahad stayed seated at the table, staring down, apparently studying the empty table in front of him. Merlin took the opportunity to study him in turn, and the subtle changes that had cropped up in the weeks since Harry’s rather turbulent return.

Eggsy’s Galahad had always been a nearly picture perfect replica of a young Harry Hart -- the accent, the clothes, the hair, the lazy, exaggerated manners. Merlin had often marveled at how completely Eggsy had managed to captured the older man’s younger self, but it had seemed fitting; Merlin had certainly been viciously pleased at the sight of Harry's protege taking Valentine out while looking like Harry's own vengeful ghost.

But it seemed that Harry’s return had shaken something loose, and Eggsy was spreading his sartorial wings. The pocket square, in particular, was perfectly correct in every way -- but a rather remarkable burgundy, and folded into an elaborate Cagney, rather than the simple white, square fold that Harry embraced as most befitting a refined gentleman. Merlin was sure Harry disapproved; Merlin, however, found he rather thought it suited the young Knight.

What did _not_ suit him was the transparent look of apprehension on his face. Merlin couldn’t recall having seen anything like it since Eggsy had performed so admirably on V-Day. There had been moments, here and there, when Eggsy had occasionally seemed unsure, but overall he’d quickly come to be quite confident in his abilities -- and rightly so.

“Galahad?” Merlin prompted after a few moments, disquieted. The knight startled and looked up. “Is there a problem?” Merlin asked, the small seed blooming into actual worry when Eggsy just stared, then shook himself, pasting on a smile that was blatantly false before Eggsy abruptly relaxed, limbs going languid, smile easing into just the polite side of smug; Galahad once again.

“Of course not, Arthur,” Galahad said, standing smoothly. He tugged absentmindedly at one cuff, and delivered his, “Good afternoon, then,” to Merlin calmly before turning for the door.

Merlin watched him go, not at all reassured.

 

 

“Ev’ning, guv!” was the next thing he had from the boy, much later that day.

Having a Knight show up at his home was almost entirely unheard of, for a number of reasons. Merlin was not often there, for one. More to the point, however, he had never so much as discussed his home with any of them and, while Merlin was sure that they all knew where he lived -- the Knights being nearly constitutionally incapable of minding their own business -- they had all always done him the courtesy of respecting that boundary.

Yet there was Eggsy at his front door, a small grin on his face. He was in street clothes, thank god, and curled into that unattractive slouch that he sometimes favored. On the other hand, the last rays of light from the setting sun were having an unfairly complementary effect, as though he were actually lit up with youth and vigor.

At least he wasn’t wearing that blasted jumper.

“Ah, Eggsy,” Merlin said, and raised an eyebrow pointedly, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Eggsy laughed strangely, shoulders curving in even further, head ducked down. He didn’t say anything, just continued to study the make of Merlin’s front steps, eventually emitting a little 'ummmm' noise that trailed off awkwardly. Merlin's eyebrows wanted to go up further, but couldn’t.

“Come in, then,” Merlin said, finally and somewhat incredulously, worried that Eggsy might soon be forced to start scuffing his shoe on the step.

“'fanks,” Eggsy said, head still tucked down, and stepped into the house, following Merlin as he led the way into his study.

“I'd been hoping to talk to you about the Givens mission, anyway,” Merlin allowed as he poured them both a drink. Eggsy nodded as he took his, circling round to hover by the study door, then discarded his drink on the side table almost immediately. He looked unsettlingly like he was ready to flee at any moment.

Merlin waited, but nothing was forthcoming. Eggsy appeared to find the carpet fascinating.

“Eggsy... if something is wrong with the mission, I need you to tell me. You _are_ allowed to refuse missions.” He pointed out, as neutrally as he could. Eggsy hadn't yet refused a mission, and while Merlin wouldn't have any of his Knights taking missions with which they truly weren’t comfortable -- they were still spread very thin. If Eggsy _were_ refusing, Merlin would have to pull Owain off the Argentina campaign, and that would mean the loss of three months of work.

“Ain't refusing it,” Eggsy said hastily, and Merlin mentally set aside partially formed extraction plans.

“Well, what is it then? Out with it, son,” He ordered, voice a little brusque with relief. Eggsy made the 'ummm' noise again and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. When he finally looked up, he was barely able to meet Merlin's eyes before turning his head to stare out the study’s front window. His cheeks were flushed a deep, rosy pink. Merlin absolutely did not gape.

“Well, thing is--” Eggsy said, then bit his lip, still staring out the window, “Uh. Just that I ain't never – like – uh – before?” He glanced at Merlin plaintively, as if begging permission to leave it at that. Merlin's brain haltingly translated this stuttered explanation, then stalled out.

“You said on your training survey that you had experience with both genders,” Merlin said blankly.

”Sure, but like, a bit of a helping hand or a gob job,” Eggsy said, defensively. Incongruously, that seemed to be what he needed to finally meet Merlin's eyes, shoulders pulling back confrontationally. “Didn't lie,” He said, evenly, “just ain't never got any further. But I don't think I can keep Givens busy for two hours with just a gobble. So it's a problem, right?”

Merlin was going to burn that survey form.

“I can have Owain back here by Thursday.” Was what he finally settled on, and, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll take care of it.”

“Oi, you don't need to bring Owain back!” Eggsy protested immediately, sounding irked, “Said I wasn't refusing the mission, didn't I? Just, uh,” and here, Eggsy raised one arm and squeezed the back of his neck anxiously; the flush, which had been easing up, returned with interest, “just wondering if you’d, um….?”

…

…

_What._

“Like, Kingsman's got training for everything else, yeah?” The grin Eggsy managed was too anxious to be becoming. “What I mean is – that is – you're well fit, and I trust you, so, uh, if you're free tonight and you don't mind...” He trailed off, looking hopeful.

“-- Eggsy--” Merlin managed to grate out, voice remarkably even, but couldn’t manage anything else.

Eggsy, though, apparently got more out of this than Merlin had actually managed to even think, because he immediately hunched in on himself.

“Yeah, yeah, 'course not, don't know what I was thinking,” He said quickly, eyes dropping back to the floor, flush fading rapidly into a sickly pallor. “Stupid to even ask, sure you got better things to do. Sorry.” He took a step back and bumped into the doorway, startled, and unfolded his arms to hold his hands out in front of him defensively, “I'll just pop around one of the clubs, yeah? I'll have it straightened out by tomorrow, no worries –“

“Eggsy. Be. _Silent._ ” Merlin's voice wasn't as even that time; he could hear his own brogue deepening, very much against his will.

Eggsy froze, mouth open in a way that would have been comical at any other time. Merlin looked at him, and, very carefully, exhaled slowly.

“Are you serious about this?” He asked, then held up a hand to stop whatever nonsense Eggsy was going to spout out, “Because if you are, then the answer is yes. But if you're not sure, then you can leave now, Owain will take over this mission, and you will inform me when the situation has changed. Under either of these circumstances, you will _not_ be going 'round _any_ club just to let some _stranger_ \--” He cut himself off abruptly when he finally noted how wide Eggsy's eyes had gotten.

They stared at each other in silence, Eggsy backed against the door, Merlin standing with his back to his desk, fists clenched. He wasn’t sure when that happened. He forced his his hands to uncurl, kept his breathing even, and waited.

 

 

Pressing the younger man down into his sheets was something that Merlin had never allowed himself to imagine. Even if he had, Merlin doubted that he’d have ever managed anything close to reality: the eager way that Eggsy let himself be tumbled down onto the bed, the long, lithe stretch of him under Merlin’s hands, the dazed, shocked groan as Merlin pushed inside. The easy laugh, after, as Eggsy draped himself along Merlin’s side.

“Thanks, Merlin,” Eggsy said from Merlin’s shoulder, a little while later, turning his head gently into the fingers Merlin was carding through his hair. His smile was lopsided and careless, the corners of his eyes crinkled in genuine happiness. Merlin felt lighter than he had in quite some time, and pulled the younger man closer with a smile.

“My pleasure, Eggsy, to be sure.”


	5. Markers of Affection

“Honestly, Merlin, I hope we’re about done with all of nonsense,” Harry complained, then stopped abruptly as he registered that Merlin wasn’t alone in the office. “I apologize, I didn’t realize -- am I early?”

“Not at all,” Merlin said, and gestured Harry to the free chair in front of Arthur’s desk. Behind him, Lancelot was perched in her now-usual place on the high, wide windowsill. Galahad, on the other hand, was stretched out languidly in the chair next to Harry. He offered his sponsor a genial smile as Harry sat, but Merlin knew that they were still rebuilding bridges.

As Harry would soon discover, once he returned to active duty and was once again allowed to roam HQ freely, finding the two of them in Arthur’s office had become far from unusual. Their presence in the office at that particular moment, however, was anything but coincidental, no matter the vague excuses they’d murmured when sauntering in casually just minutes prior.

Merlin watched Harry examine the two young Knights. His old friend looked faintly incredulous at the show they were very obviously putting on, then amused. There had been a few small stirrings, here and there, about the appropriateness of Merlin’s ascension to the role of Arthur, since Harry’s return. Merlin knew that Harry didn’t want the position of Arthur -- he loved the theatrics of field work far too much to ever give it up willingly -- but that didn’t diminish how gratifying Merlin found his young Knights’ conspicuous show of loyalty.

“We had better be off, then,” Galahad said, and stood; behind him, Merlin heard Lancelot slip from her perch.

“Just a moment,” she said, coming into Merlin’s peripheral vision as she circled the desk, then stepped around fully to stand in front of Galahad. The Knight cocked his head at her curiously as she came to a stop. “Let me,” she said, when she was in front of him, and, reaching up, carefully straightened Galahad’s tie. “There you are,” she said, when she was done, “you’re all properly sorted.”

Merlin didn’t, actually, get it -- until she threw a small warning look in Harry’s direction as she towed Galahad after her out of the room.

“Merlin,” Harry asked, when the door had shut behind them, voice tight with poorly suppressed amusement, “is that _your tie_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roxy won't have any _interference_ with her OTP, thank you.


End file.
